Natural (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

A Sweater

Piper awoke to a soft knocking on the van doors. She sat up, wiping drool off her chin and rubbing her eyes. Careful not to wake up Annabeth, she stepped over her and reached for the doors, cracking them open a bit. "Who is it?" she asked quietly, her voice rough and deep from sleep.

"I'm Leo, a guy from the camp that Chiron leads." Piper yawned, resting her head against the metal of the van interior.

"Chiron?"

"He said he talked to you yesterday. You know, invited you to our breakfast thing."

"Right."

There was a pause, and the boy on the other side seemed to shift uncomfortably. "Are... Are you coming?"

Piper jolted awake, finding that she had started to fall asleep against the doors. "Yeah, 'course. Give us a sec." The boy walked away, and Piper yawned again, covering her mouth. She looked back at Annabeth, who was sleeping curled up in a rather cute ball. She smiled, leaning down and brushing away Annabeth's hair from her peaceful sleeping face. "Annabeth," she whispered, "wake up."

Annabeth woke slowly, first curling her toes, then stretching out fully, before opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was Piper, leaning over her, her face tried and somehow still beautiful. She felt her lips curl in a groggy smile. "Hi," she said as she sat up, finding her voice gravelly and quite disgusting. Piper leaned back, apparently taking no notice to her gross voice.

Which is wrong, of course. Piper noticed it, and was trying not to let show how flustered it made her. And apparently it worked.

The two sat for a moment while Annabeth woke up fully, rubbing her eyes and checking her phone for the time. She frowned, glancing at Piper as she pulled clothes out of her bag. "Why so early?"

"We were invited to a breakfast." Annabeth raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything about it, instead stifling a yawn.

"Do you think it's cold out?"

"Probably not." Piper paused, for the first time noticing that there was no place for Annabeth to change, except for right in front of her. Of course, they were both girls, but, well, Piper was in love with Annabeth, so it felt just the tiniest bit wrong. "I'll just, uh, head out first."

"Aren't you going to change?"

"Later on, I won't be comfortable sleeping in my regular clothes," Piper said, hoping that was a good enough excuse. Annabeth seemed to accept it, so she tried not to give it a second thought as she left the van.

Annabeth changed clothes, putting on a long-sleeve and a light sweater, not bothering to change out of the leggings she'd been wearing when she was asleep. No one would notice, and Piper certainly wouldn't care. This was fine.

She stepped out of the van, a cold wind blowing her hair back as she tried to control it into a decent pony-tail. Looking around, she saw Piper with a group of teenagers who seemed to be lead by a guy in a wheelchair. She was about to walk over when she paused, turning back to the van. The scene in front of her was calm and peaceful; a scene she wouldn't have minded getting a picture of. And so she grabbed her camera, taking a couple shots of the stone picnic benches with the people around them.

As she walked closer, the smell of bacon and pancakes was making her mouth water. Not wanting to be rude, though, she walked to where Piper was standing, talking with the man in the wheelchair and a short Mexican boy. She didn't exactly know what to say, so she said nothing, taking her hand out of her sweater pockets and tapping Piper lightly on her back, letting her know she was there.

"Oh, hey, Annabeth, this is Chiron and Leo." Annabeth nodded, letting a pleasant enough looking smile slide onto her lips. "I talked with Chiron yesterday and he suggested we join him and his camp for breakfast before we move on." The Mexican boy, whom Piper had called Leo, seemed to have trouble keeping his hands still, fiddling with pipe cleaners and wires he pulled out of his jacket pockets. Annabeth's eyes moved to Chiron, the man in the wheelchair. He already seemed to be looking at her, and his kind eyes twinkled with a sort of knowing that made her slightly uncomfortable.